Erik Spoelstra Biography

Erik Spoelstra is an American professional basketball coach who is currently the head coach for the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association (NBA).

Of Filipino descent from his mother’s side, Spoelstra is the first Asian-American head coach in the history of the four major North American sports leagues and the first Asian-American head coach to win an NBA championship. From 2001 to 2008, he served as an assistant coach and director of scouting for the team. Later, Spoelstra was promoted to head coach. Before the 2010–11 season, team President Pat Riley assembled a superstar trio of free agents LeBron James and Chris Bosh joining Dwyane Wade. While Erik Spoelstra was head coach, the Heat made four consecutive NBA Finals appearances (2011–2014), winning the championship in both 2012 and 2013.

Erik Spoelstra Education

Spoelstra was born in Evanston, Illinois, and later spent his childhood in Buffalo, New York, before moving to Portland, Oregon, by the late 1970s. He studied at Raleigh Hills Elementary and Whitford Jr. High School. He then went to Jesuit High School in Beaverton, Oregon, where he excelled as a point guard on the basketball team. During high school and college, Spoelstra wore number 30 in honor of then-Trail Blazer Terry Porter, one of his favorite NBA players. Prior to his senior year, he participated in Sonny Vaccaro’s Nike All-Star camp in Princeton, New Jersey, alongside future NBA players Alonzo Mourning, Billy Owens, Shawn Kemp, and Bobby Hurley.

Erik Spoelstra College Career

Erik Spoelstra got basketball scholarship offers and eventually accepted one from the University of Portland in his hometown. In 1989, Spoelstra was named West Coast Conference freshman of the year. He was the Pilots’ starting point guard for four years, averaging 9.2 points, 4.4 assists, and 2.4 rebounds per game. Spoelstra is a member of the school’s 1,000-point club and is among the Pilots’ career leaders in several statistical categories.

During a 1990 WCC Basketball Tournament game against Loyola Marymount, he was on the court standing just a couple of yards away from Hank Gathers when Gathers collapsed and later died of a heart condition. In 1992, Spoelstra graduated from the University of Portland with a degree in communications.

Erik Spoelstra Miami Heat

Assistant coach

In 1995, Spoelstra was hired as the Heat’s video coordinator although at first he was not promised the position past the summer of that year. After two years as a video coordinator, Spoelstra then served two years as an assistant coach/video coordinator. He was promoted to assistant coach/advanced scout in 1999 and later became the Heat’s assistant coach/director of scouting in 2001. He won his first NBA championship as an assistant coach when the Miami Heat defeated the Dallas Mavericks in the 2006 NBA Finals.

Head coach

Spoelstra became the head coach of the Miami Heat in April 2008 after Pat Riley’s decision to step down. He was Riley’s hand-picked successor. In December 2011, Spoelstra received a $6 million contract extension which lasted through the 2013–14 NBA season.

During the 2012–13 season, he was selected as head coach of the 2013 Eastern Conference All-Stars in the 2013 NBA All-Star Game, with the Heat holding the best record in the Eastern Conference at the time of selection. Spoelstra later coached the Heat to a 27-game winning streak (second-longest in NBA history).

On September 29, 2013, the Heat extended his contract to an undisclosed multi-year deal. Details were not released, but Erik Spoelstra was expected to receive a pay raise and a bigger role in the front office. He led the Heat to the 2014 NBA Finals, becoming the third coach to lead his team to four straight Finals. On December 16, 2017, he got his 455th win as the head coach of the Heat and passed Riley for most wins in franchise history, when they defeated the Los Angeles Clippers 90–85.

Erik Spoelstra Age

He was born Erik Jon Spoelstra on November 1, 1970, in Evanston, Illinois, United States. He celebrates his birthday on 1st November every year. Spoelstra is 53 years old.

Erik Spoelstra Height

Spoelstra stands at a height of 6 feet 2 inches(1.88 m) tall

Erik Spoelstra Parents / Family

Spoelstra is the only son of Jon Spoelstra and Elisa Celino. His father is Dutch-Irish-American and a former NBA executive of the Buffalo Braves, Portland Trail Blazers, Denver Nuggets, and New Jersey Nets. His mother is a native of San Pablo, Laguna, Philippines. Spoelstra is the grandson of Watson Spoelstra, a longtime sportswriter for The Detroit News. He has one older sister.

Erik Spoelstra Wife

On September 17, 2015, Erik Spoelstra announced his engagement to former Miami Heat cheerleader, Nikki Sapp. They tied the knot on July 22, 2016.

Erik Spoelstra Net Worth

Spoelstra has an estimated net worth of $10 million which he has earned from his career as a professional basketball coach.

Erik Spoelstra Salary

Spoelstra earns an annual salary averaging $8.5 million.

The table below answers some of the frequently asked questions about Spoelstra.